Inspired By The Black & White Army

Manager Shaun Derry has told his players to draw inspiration from the Notts County supporters when they face Coventry City this coming Saturday (3pm kick-off).

The Sky Blues are travelling in force, with well over 3,000 tickets already sold in the away section, but big opposition followings bring out the best in the Black and White Army.

Notts fans have been terrific in backing the Magpies on home turf this term and the same levels of support can made a big difference in what will be a difficult test.

City would have been placed in the Play-Offs had a 10-point deduction not been imposed ahead of the campaign and Derry is expecting another big challenge, following three very tough fixtures.

“We’ve had some tough games of late and I think we’ve been up against three of the top seven in the last three games,” he told the press.

“They’re all difficult at this time of the season but the key for us is to look forward to a home game.

“It will be a big crowd for us on Saturday – one that I’m hoping the lads will respond to.”

Coventry lost the Sky Bet League 1 top-scorer Leon Clarke during the January transfer window but Derry knows that they remain a force to be reckoned with.

The gaffer is expecting a battle between two teams eager to close the gap on the sides above them, as the Sky Blues look to make up ground on the top six and Notts aim to climb out of the bottom four.

“You’d have thought that [they would have been weakened by losing Clarke] but then they pulled a great result out of the bag the other night,” he continued.

“It shows what kind of guys they’ve got working for them over in Coventry – or Northampton – wherever they play.

“They’ll be disappointed to lose one or two, I’m sure – Clarke was a big player for them - but they’ve responded in the right way and it shows that there’s a lot of teams on an even level in this league.

“They’re in 12th position at the minute but only a couple of wins and they could be touching the top six.

“Only a couple of wins for us and we could be touching 12th position, so it goes to show that it’s fine lines.”

For full pre-match build-up, sign in to Magpie Player.

Further coverage will be available in the Nottingham Post, Nottinghamshire Topper and as part of BBC Radio Nottingham’s pre-match show.